Erin Morgenstern · 2011 · global

Erin Morgenstern's 2011 novel follows Le Cirque des Reves, a black-and-white circus that appears without warning and opens only at night, as it wanders between Victorian cities while two bound magicians duel within it. The route traces its travels from London across Europe and over the Atlantic to New England.

1. 1
   London

   At Chandresh's midnight dinners in 1886, Le Cirque des Reves is conceived, and one night it simply appears in a field outside the city, open only from dusk to dawn.

2. 2
   Paris

   As the circus wanders, its devoted followers in red scarves, the reveurs, trail it from city to city across Europe.

3. 3
   Munich

   In Munich the clockmaker Herr Thiessen builds the circus its great Wishing Clock and falls under its enchantment.

4. 4
   Prague

   In Prague, at last, the duelling magicians Celia and Marco discover they are each other's opponent, and their rivalry turns to a perilous love.

5. 5
   Barcelona

   Bound to the circus, Celia travels on with it while Marco is left behind in London, the two players moving pieces across a board neither fully understands.

6. 6
   Boston

   The circus crosses the Atlantic, appearing without warning in New England as the game that binds its people nears its breaking point.

7. 7
   Concord

   Outside Concord, the boy Bailey is chosen by a fortune-teller's vision, and on one final night in 1902 the fate of the circus, and everyone in it, rests on him.